Slain Marine served honorablyLITTLE ROCK — U.S. Senator John Boozman is remembering the service of a Marine with Arkansas ties killed this week in attacks on two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Boozman said in a statement Saturday that Staff Sgt. David Wyatt served his country honorably and gave his life in defense of American freedom. The Republican lawmaker also says the country can’t forget that threats to America exist even away from combat zones. Wyatt...

Bond hearingsThe following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Friday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear Aug. 17 in Pope County Circuit Court. •Justin Metcalf, 31, aggravated assault and terroristic threatening — $7,500. At 9:03 p.m. on Wednesday, a Russellville police officer responded to a call about a disturbance with a gun. The complainant al...

Sheriff’s deputy hurt while on patrolDANVILLE — Sheriff Bill Gilkey announced the arrest Sunday of a Dardanelle man on charges stemming from an incident in which a deputy was allegedly injured. Richard Allen Via, 40, was taken into custody early Sunday after a deputy sheriff on routine patrol allegedly discovered Via standing in a traffic lane of State Highway 7 outside of Dardanelle, according to Chief Deputy John Foster. The deputy reported Via refused to comply with commands t...

Jury duty scamThere is currently a scam in Pope County concerning a man calling citizens about jury duty and demanding $1,500, according to a release from the Pope County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). A man using the name James Marshall has allegedly called citizens and claimed to be a Pope County Deputy, badge number 731. According to a release, the man demanded the payment of $1,500 to avoid arrest for failing to report for jury duty. The release stated the ma...

Sheriff's beat• Pope County Sheriff’s Deputy Joseph Turner was told by a 27-year-old Dover woman that unknown suspect(s) had allegedly stolen fuel out of their above-ground fuel tanks. There was no way to indicate how much fuel was missing. • Lt. James Lean was told Tuesday by a 47-year-old Dover man that a 74-year-old man allegedly threatened him with a gun for hitting and damaging his mailbox. The complainant stated he thought he would be shot in the back...

Jury duty scamThere is currently a scam in Pope County concerning a man calling citizens about jury duty and demanding $1,500, according to a release from the Pope County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). A man using the name James Marshall has allegedly called citizens and claimed to be a Pope County Deputy, badge number 731. According to a release, the man demanded the payment of $1,500 to avoid arrest for failing to report for jury duty. The release stated the ma...

Bond hearings (July 15, 2015)The following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear Aug. 17 in Pope County Circuit Court. Brandon Johnson, 37, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia — $7,500. At about 10:57 p.m. on Monday, a Russellville police officer pulled Johnson over for not using his turn signal ...

Benton County search for man on the run ends in MissouriAssociated Press BENTONVILLE — A four-day search for a 39-year-old man on the run from law enforcement in Benton County has ended in Missouri. Officers had pursued the suspect since Friday evening, when authorities say deputies attempted to serve him a warrant for failure to pay child support and a parole violation. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the suspect fled from an apartment complex and led police on a chase across a golf course b...

Arkansas correctional officer attacked by inmate with rodVARNER, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas prison officials are investigating an inmate who allegedly attacked a female correctional officer at the Varner Supermax prison. Officials say the incident occurred shortly before 8:30 a.m. Monday when the inmate allegedly attacked the officer with a metal rod. Other officers heard her cry out for help and found her on the floor, suffering from what appeared to be two puncture wounds. The officer was treated and re...

Man released from jail Saturday, arrested for drugs SundayA Dardanelle man released from jail on Saturday was arrested less than 11 hours later Sunday after an officer, who was holding a flashlight to help the suspect search his bag for evidence of his incarceration, found inside the bag .5 grams of methamphetamine, seven syringes, a spoon and .7 grams of marijuana. Mack Harris, 55, was reported as a suspicious person in the area of St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center at about 4:16 a.m. Sunday. A Russ...

Parole board approves shorter hearing deadlinesAssociated Press LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Parole Board approved several changes to its rules Monday, including shorter deadlines to hold revocation hearings for parole violators and a stronger focus on alternative sentencing programs. The other changes made at a special hearing in Little Rock involved clarifying the board’s rulemaking abilities and that board members can hear revocation cases to ease the burden on the four Arkansas judges wh...

Bond hearings (July 13, 2015)The following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Monday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear Aug. 17 in Pope County Circuit Court. Jessica Powers, 27, second-degree forgery — $5,000. A woman reported to the Russellville Police Department (RPD) in April 2014 someone forged her name on checks from a checking account closed since 2009 at...

Ex-sanitation manager gets theft chargesBY SEAN INGRAM sean@couriernews.com DANVILLE — The former manager of Yell County’s sanitation department was arrested by Yell County Sheriff’s investigators last week and faces charges including theft of property, tampering with public records and abuse of office. Yell County Circuit Court documents filed Friday indicated that Lance Wilkins, 45, of Danville was charged by the 15th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with one count ...

Alleged shooter pleads not guiltyCLARKSVILLE — The man arrested May 15 for the fatal shooting of a Johnson County Sheriff’s reserve deputy has pleaded not guilty in Johnson County Circuit Court. David Gibbons, Fifth Judicial District prosecuting attorney, said Saturday that neither Fred Kauffeld, 51, of Clarksville nor his attorney, William O. “Bill” James Jr. of the James Law Firm in Little Rock, appeared Friday morning inside the Johnson County Courthouse. The plea of not g...

Traffic stop turns into drug bustTwo Russellville men were arrested Wednesday night after a Russellville police officer pulled them over and found them in possession of 28 Hydrocodone pills, 4.75 grams of marijuana, $447 in cash and drug paraphernalia. The officer pulled over a white Chevrolet Suburban on East Elm Street at about 10:17 p.m. for turning without using a signal and immediately smelled marijuana after making contact with the passengers, according to a report. Col...

Bond hearings (July 8, 2015)The following individual appeared during felony bond hearings Wednesday at the Pope County Detention Center. His name, age, anticipated charge and bond amount are listed. If charged, he will appear Aug. 3 in Pope County Circuit Court. Jonathan Ford, 32, possessing or viewing child pornography — $100,000. Ford, who was already being held at the Pope County Detention Center (PCDC) on a separate charge of bestiality (arrested June 12) and a felon...

Ohio man arrested with psychedelicsAn Ohio man who said he had taken his summer after college graduation off to have a cross-country adventure was arrested on Tuesday by the Arkansas State Police (ASP) after being found in possession of 54 hits of a psychedelic drug called DOM, five grams of a purer form of ecstasy called MDMA, 4.2 grams of marijuana and 14.5 unknown tablets, as well as various paraphernalia. Aaron Neyer, 22, appeared in bond hearings at the Pope County Detenti...

Subway suspends ties with Fogle after raidAssociated Press ZIONSVILLE, Ind. — FBI agents and Indiana State Police raided the home of Subway restaurant spokesman Jared Fogle on Tuesday, removing electronics from the property and searching the house with a police dog, two months after the then-executive director of Fogle’s foundation was arrested on child pornography charges. FBI agent Wendy Osborne said the agency was conducting an investigation in Zionsville, an affluent Indianapolis ...

Bond hearings (July 6, 2015)The following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Monday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear Aug. 3 in Pope County Circuit Court. Courtney Chandler, 27, possession of a controlled substance — $15,000. A Russellville police officer responded to a domestic disturbance at about 3:17 p.m. on Saturday and found a man and his girlfriend, Ch...